” Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all. So don’t wait for trouble to intimidate or paralyse you. Make a move”

It’s not just children that mimic your every move, employees do it also!

I well remember one boss who, to put it mildly was a bit of a nutter… and several of my peers decided that to get ahead they should behave like nutters also! The consequences for the company were disastrous!

Melanie Reid is an award-winning Times journalist whose weekly column for The Times, ‘Spinal Column’, is about disability and her life as a disabled person. She broke her neck and back, in April 2010 whilst horse riding, and is now a tetraplegic.

Her column is open , honest, and above all thought provoking.

One sentence in one particular column hit home –

“If you don’t want to live – I mean appreciate every moment of being free and able – give me your body”

A surprising number of people though, who say they haven’t, have got it wrong. Because, they, like me, will have gone through periods in their lives where they have been imprisoned by their own thoughts.

“The eagle gently coaxed her offspring toward the edge of the nest. Her heart quivered with conflicting emotions as she felt their resistance to her persistent nudging. “Why does the thrill of soaring have to begin with the fear of falling?” she thought. This ageless question was still unanswered for her.

As is the tradition of the species, her nest was located high on the shelf of a sheer rock face. Below there was nothing but air to support the wings of each child. “Is it possible that this time it will not work?” she thought. Despite her fears, the eagle knew it was time. Her parental mission was all but complete. There remained one final task – the push.

The eagle drew courage from an innate wisdom. Until her children discovered their wings, there was no purpose for their lives. Until they learned how to soar, they would fail to understand the privilege it was to have been born an eagle. The push was the greatest gift she had to offer. It was her supreme act of love.